Stapling-machine.



L. R. 'HBIM- STAPLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN; 14, 1910.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

INVE NTOR 2 ATTORNEY.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

L. R. HBIM.

STAPLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.14, 1910.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

IIIIIIII a n. 42 5 38 =38 I I will S WITNESSES: INVENTOB ATTORNEY Kw L m M w w m 8 3 m m 3 d n :W e 3 L. R. HEIM.

STAPLING MACHINE APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14, 1910.

INVENTOI? M ATTORNEY wk 1 A LR LEWIS R. HEIM, OF DANBU'RY, CONNECTICUT.

STAPLING-MACHINE. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2'7, 1912.

Application filed January 14, 1910. Serial No. 537,997.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LEWIS R. HEIM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Danbury, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in tively from a coil of wire, cut off a blank,

form a staple, drive it and clench it during the downward .movement of a hand operated vertically reciprocating plunger, thus avoiding the necessity for a heavyspring for performing the feeding operation the power of which must .be overcome in addition to the power required for cutting off, forming, driving and clenching the staple, the spring in my'novel machine being only required to return the parts to their normal position after a staple has been driven and clenched.

A further object of the invention is" to produce a machine of this character in which after sufiicient wire has been fed forward to form a staple the feeding mechanism remains stationary and the wire is held against the possibility of buckling.

A further object of the invention is to produce an automatic stapling machine which shall be so simple and inexpensive to produce as to place'it within the reach of all, which shall be so light as to make it easily portable and in which the danger of getting out of repair is so perfectly eliminated as to make it practically fool-proof.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain constructions and in certain parts, improvements and combinations which will be hereinafter described and then specifically pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in all of the views, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine complete; Fig. 2 a side elevation partly in section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 a rear elevation; Fig. 4 a front elevation of the head with the face plate removed showing the cutting ofi', forming and driving mechanisms in the raised or normal position; Fig. 5 a similar view showing the parts in the depressed position, and also showing the operation of the clenching mechanism, the front block being removed; Fig. 6 a detail vertical sec tion on the line 66 in Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 7 a view of the forming block detached; Fig. 8 a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the position of the parts at the instant of the cutting off operation; Fig. 9 a similar view showing the position of the parts after the forming operation and before the driving and clenching operations; Fig. 10 a section onthe line 10-1O in Fig. 9 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 11 an elevation of the former carrying block detached; Fig. 12 a plan view of said block; and Fig. 13 is a detail elevation of the feed pawl and ratchet and the pinion as seen from the right in Fig. 3-

20 denotes the base which is made compact and light and 21 the head as a whole which is carried by an arm 22 pivoted as at 24 to ears 23 on a hub 89 upon the base.

25 denotes a plunger which reciprocates in a hole 26 inthe head. The lower end of the plunger is provided with a bevel 27 for a purpose presently to be explained. At the upper end of the plunger is a rounded head 28 which is adapted to receive a blow or pressure of the hand in operation. Below the head is a shank 29 which is rigidly secured to the plunger and is provided with an arm 30 to which a slide 31 is rigidly secured, said slide lying in a guide 32 in a carrying plate 111 forming part of the head and reciprocating with theplunger. A spring 33 hearing against the underside of the shank and against the head. the lower end of the spring being preferably socketed in the head, acts to return the plunger and slide to their normal position after an. operation. As this spring is not required to perform any feeding or other operation but merely-to return the operative parts totheir normal position after operation, it may be made relatively light and but little power is required to ,"overcome it in use, thus adding greatly to the ease of operation of the machine and reducing thepower of forcel of the blow required to operate it. r

The plunger is provided with a rack 34 which is engaged by a. gear wheel 35 having a relatively longconvex sector indicated by 36. Gear wheel 35 meshes with a feed driving pinion 37 which is free to oscillate on a shaft 38 andis provided with a relatively short concave sector 109. Shaft 38 is journaled in the head and carries a feed ratchet 39 lying outside the pinion (see Fig. 3) and on the opposite side of the head (see Fig.' 1) carries a gear wheel 40, which has formed integral thcrewithor rigidly secured thereto an upper feed roll 41. I

42 denotes a housing which is rigidly secured to pinion'37 and carries a-springactuated sliding feed pawl 43 which engages ratchet 39. A forward movement of the plunger therefore through gear wheel 35 and pinion 37 causes the feed pawl to carry the feed ratchet and with it shaft 38, gear wheel 40 and upper feed roll 41 forward a distance equal to one tooth of the ratchet. When the hand is removed from the plunger gear wheel 35 and pinion 37 will return the pawl backward over a tooth of the ratchetto its normal position, the pawl slid.- ing forward to the engaging position after it-has passed a tooth of the ratchet in the pinion carried by the stud are yieldingly retained in operative position by a spring 50 the ends of which are connected to the outer end of the arrh and to t e head (see Fig. 3 in connection with.Fi 1). The wire, indicated by 51, is carried by a drum 52 mounted on a screw stud 53 which engages the head. A spring 54 bearing against the head of the stud and against the side of the drum provides the necessary tension therefor. The wire passes from the drum through a guide 55 which straightens it and then between the feed rolls from which it passes into an elongated carrying groove 56 in a rear block 57 which is secured in the head by'a screw 59 (see Fig. 4). This groove which is covered and closed by a front block 58 intersects a guide channel 110 in rear block 57 in which the formers and driver, presently to be described, reciprocate. Said guide channel coincides with the'guide 32 andv practicall forms a. continuation thereof. By provi convex sector 36 on gear wheel 35 and a corresponding relatively short concave sector 109 on pinion 37 I stop the rotation of 1 the feed rolls the instant the feeding movement is finished and retain them stationary duringthe rest of the downward movement of the plunger and until near the end of the upward movement thereof. 'At the end of the feeding movement concave sector 109 on the pinion will pass into engagement with the longer convex sector on the gear wheel and during the rest of the downward movement of the plunger the convex sector on the gear wheel will slide over the concave surface of the sector on the pinion, the pinion being thus effectually locked against any movement whatever while the cutting off, forming, driving and clenching operations, presently to bedescribed, are being performed. When the plunger commences to rise the convex sector on the gear wheel will slide in the opposite direction over the concave surface of the sector on the pinion, said pinion remaining locked, however, until the sector on the gear wheel has passed out of engagement with the sector on the pinion and the teeth of the gear wheel again engage the teeth of the pinion, which does not take place until near the end of the upward or return movementof the plunger, as will readily be understood from Fig. 3. As the wire is fed forward it passes through a oove 60 in the rear face of a forming block 61 which is socketed in front block 58.

.The forming block is shown as retained in its socket, indicated by 62, by a top plate 63. The forming block is free to reciprocate transversely to block 58 and is yieldingly retained in its forward or operative position a spring 64 which is socketed in a recess 65 in the block and bears against a face plate 66 which is secured to the head and covers the cutting off, forming and driving mechanisms. The upper rear edge of the forming block is provided with a bevel 67 for a purpose presently to be explained. The forward end of the wire after the feeding movement abut-s against the wall of guide channel 110 in block 57 which acts as a stop, as clearly shownin Fig. 8, so that no more wire can be fed into carrying groove 56 until after a staple has been cut off and formed. Should the plunger be allowed to rise after a feeding operation and before the cutting off and forming operations and should the plunger again be opunder the face plate.

ger of the wire buckling or of injury tothe machine.

Slide 31 is retained in groove 32 by means of side plates 68 and 69 which are securedto the head by screws '70 which also secure face plate 66' in place, the side plates lying- These side plates partly overhang the groove and have important functions which will presently be described. The lower end of slide 31 is shown in Fig. 10 as cut away upon its face, as at 71, and is narrowed to form the staple driver 72. If preferred the driver may be made separate from the slide and secured thereto as shown in Fig. 6.

73 denotes a block which slides in groove 32 under the side plates and is provided in its back with a groove 74 in which the driver slides. Extending downward from block 73 are the formers indicated by 75 and 76, which reciprocate in guide channel 110 in block 57. These formers pass downward on opposite sides of forming block 61 (the central portion of thewire for the staple blank lying in the groove in the forming block) and, form the staple by bending it to U-shape over the sides of the forming block. The cutting off of the staple blank is performed by a cutter 77 at the outer edge of former 75 (see Figs. 8.and 11) acting in cooperation with the wall of groove 110 in block 57, said wall at the inner end of carrying groove 56 (inwhich the wire is held against other than longitudinal movement) serving as astationary cutting off die. will be noted that the cutter is at the outer edge of former 75 and extends downward slightly below former 76, so that the cutting off of the staple blank from the strip of wire is effected an instant before the formers commence to form the staple about the forming block. An instant after the forming of the staple the driver engages the top of the staple and drives it through the material to be bound together, as will be more fully described.

Block 73 carrying the formers and cutter is operated from the slide by means of a hook 78 which is pivoted to the slide as at 79 and is provided at its lower end with a socketSO which is adapted to receive a stud 81 extending forward from the block. The inner face of side plate 69 is'a straight wall as at 82, and at the lower end of said plate is a downwardly and outwardly extending incline 83. Side plate 68 is provided near its upper end with a shoulder 84 and at a distance below said shoulder with an inwardly'extending incline 85 which is adapted to be engaged by a projection 86 on the hook. At the upper end of projection 86 is a; shoulder 87 which engages shoulder 84.- on

side plate 68 to limit the upward movement of. the slide and the parts carried thereby. In the normal position of the parts as in Fig. 4, stud 81 on block 73 is firmly seated in socket in the hook so that the block, formers and cutter: are in fact locked to the slide and move downward with it, the hook being retained in the locking position by the engagement of surface 88 on the hook with straight wall 82 on side plate 69. The parts remain. in this position duringthe downward movement of the slide until projection 86 on the hook engages incline and:

travels down said incline which forces the hook awayfrom stud 81 as clearly shown in 'block 61 and will force said block backward a ainst the power ofspring 64 (see Fig. 10), leaving the formed staple lying outside of groove 60 and wholly detached from the forming block. At this instant the driver in its downward movement will have reached the top of the staple and the conthe engagement of surface 88 on the hook with incline 83 on side plate 69 forces the hook forward into engagement with stud 81 on block 73, projection 86 on the hook riding up incline 85 on side plate 68 and permitting the hook to pass into engagement with the stud, as clearly shown in Fig. 9, in which position it is retained by the engagement of surface 880m the hook with straight wall 82 on side plate 69. As soon as the book has passed into engagement with the stud, block '73andzthe formers and cutter will be raised to their normal position ready to cut off and form another staple.

At the end of the base opposite to hub 89 is a hub 90 to which is secured a rest 91 for the'material to be bound. In the present instance I have shown the rest as having ,parallel sides and as rising from a disk 92 which covers the hub and is provided on its underside with a sleeve 93 which. is secured within tlie hub. The rest is provided with a longitudinal slot 94 which extends through the disk. Within this slot. are loosely pivoted the clenchers 95. These clenchers are pivoted near the ends of the slot and normally drop down as shown in Fig. 8 and in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and rest upon a hammer 96 lying within the sleeve. The upper walls, indicated by 97, of the clenchers are the operative portions thereof and normally lie at an angle to the horizontal plane. When a staple is driven through the material to be bound the ends of the staple strike these walls and are bent inward at an angle to the top of the staple.

vAn instant later a blow of the hammer drives the clenchers upward as shown in Fig. 5 and clenches the ends of the staple upon the underside otthe material to be bound, the staple, indicated by 108, being thus clamped between the driverand the clenchers. (See Fig. 5). carried by a lever '98 fulcrumed in theunderside of the base as at 99 and having an arm 100 which extends upward in hub 89 and into a slot 101' in arm 22,a clearance opening 102 being provided near the upper end of arm 100 through which the pivot 24 of arm 22 passes freely. Within arm 22 is a longitudinal hole 103. which receives a longitudinally movable rod 104.. The forward end of this rod is provided with a bevel 105 which is engaged by bevel 27 at the lower end of plunger 25 and rod 104 is driven forcibly rearward thereby against arm 100 of lever 98 oscillating said lever on its fulcrum and causing the hammer to strike the clenching blow against the clench ers. Rod 104 is shown as retained against other than longitudinal movement by means of a screw pin 106 which engages a slot 107 in arm 22. The instant the plunger rises the hammer will drop down to its normal position and arm 100 upon the lever will swing to its normal position and will return rod 104 to position to-be again engaged by the plunger in its next downward movement.

The operation of the machine as a whole has been so fully described in describing the operation of the mechanisms as to hardly require further description. In brief, the downward movement of the plunger performs the several operations of feeding the wire for a staple, cutting oil the staple blank forming the staple, driving it and clenching it, and the upward movement of the plunger, which is effected by a relatively light spring when'the hand is removed from the plunger, merelyreturns the. parts to their normal position. The operation of feeding is performed by feed rolls driven by gearing operated by the plunger. The feed rolls are locked against backward movement by the The hammer is ing engagement of a feed pawl with a feed ratchet and the feed driving pinion is looked after each feeding operation through the engagement of aconcave sector on the feed driving pinion with a longer convex sector on the gear wheel which drives 1t, thus rendering movement of the pinion impossible until the gear wheel has passed, during the return movement of the plunger, into position to cause the teeth of the gear wheel to again engage the teeth of the pinion. The staple driver is a part of or is rigidly secured to a slide which in turn is rigidly connected to the plunger. The staple is formed over a sliding forming block provided with a groove to receive it, the formers one of which is provided with a cutter to cut off the staple blank are carried by a block which is detachably connected to the slide and is carried downward by the slide until the cutting off and forming operations are completed and is then detached therefrom, the

block, formers and cutter remaining stationary while the slide and driver continue their downward movement, (the driver displacing the forming block), and drive the staple the ends of which are curved inward by the clenchers. A blow of a hammer which is actuated by the plunger then causes the clenchers to clench the staple. on the underside of the material to be bound. The return movement of the plunger caused by a spring raises the slide and driver, causes the block carrying the formers and cutter to be connected with the slide and raised thereby and returns the feed pawl, over a tooth of theratchet, to its normal position ready to feed the wire for another staple.

Having thus described my invention, I claim i 1. A stapling machine comprising a head, a slide mounted to reciprocate in said head, a block also guided by said head and extending across said slide, said block being also provided with formers, a stud projecting from said block, a hook pivoted to the slide, and oppositely disposed plates carried by said head and provided with means constructed to move said hook into and out of engagement with said stud.

2. A stapling machine comprising a head, a slide mounted to reciprocate in said head, a block also guided by said head and ex- ;tending across said slide, said block being also fprovided with formers, a stud projectrom said block, a hook pivoted to the slide and having oppositely'projecting portions, and oppositely disposed plates carried by said head and provided with means constructed to engage the projecting portions of said hook to move the latter into and out of engagement with saidstud.

3. A stapling machine comprising a head, a slide mounted to reciprocate therein, a

block having a stud, formers carried by the being provided with a cutter, a hook block, one of said formers being provided with a cutter, ahook pivoted to the slide and having a socket to receive the stud, said hook having av projection on one side, means adapted to engage said projection to limit the movement 0 .said slide, a guide plate tomove the hook laterally to disengage the same fromzthe stud, and a second plate also provided with means to move the hook into engagement with said stud.

.4. A stapling machine comprising a head, a slide mounted to reciprocate therein, a block having a, stud, formers carried by the block one of which is provided with a cutter, a hookpivo'tedt-o the face of said slide being provided on'one edge with a lateral projection and on the opposite edge with a lateral ;bearing surface, a plate provided with means to disengage the hook and stud, and a second plate proviied with means to moge the'hook into engagement with said stu 5. In a machine of the character described, the cembination with. a plunger,-

and a slide connected thereto, of ablock having a stud extending. therefrom, formers carried by said block, one of said formers oted to the face of said slide and adapted to engage the stud, said hook having ,a projection on one edge, a plate having an incline adapted to engage said projection whereby the hook is moved laterally to disengage the same from: the stud, and a second; plate having an inclinewhich is engaged by the opposite edge of the hoolqto shift the latter into engagement with said stud.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a plunger, and a slide connected thereto, of a block, having a stud, formers carried by the block, one of said formers being provided with a cutter, a hook pivoted to the slide and hav-' ing a socket to receive the stud, said hook having a projection on one side, means adapted to engage said projection to limit the movement of said slide, a plate having an incline which is engaged by said projection to move the hook laterally to disengage the same from the stud, and a second plate also provided with an incline adapted to engage the other edge of the hook to move the same into engagement with said stud.

7. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination with a plunger, and a slide connected thereto, of a block having a stud, formers carried by the block one of which isprovided with a cutter, a

hook pivoted to the face of said slide and adapted to engage said stud, said hook being provided on one edge with a lateral projection and on the opposite edge with a (lateral bearing surface, a plate havlng an inclined face engagin the lateral projeci tion to disengage the ook and stud, and a .clenchers, .a hammer to actuate said clenchers, a lever by which the hammer is carried and which isprovided with an arm and a sliding rod engaging said arm and itself engaged by the plunger which causes the hammer to actuate the clenchers.

9. In a vmachine of the character de scribed, the combination with .a plunger having ,a bevel at its lower end and cutting off, forming and driving mechanisms actuated from the plunger, of pivoted clenchers, an actuating hammer, a lever by which the hammer is carried and which is provided with an arm, and'a sliding rod engaging said arm and having a bevel engaged by the bevel on the plunger, for the purpose set forth.

10. A stapling machine comprising a head provided with a guide, said guide being provided with opposite cam portions, a slide mounted in-said guide, a block also slidably'mounted in said guide and provided with staple forming and cutting means, said block extending transversely across said slide and having a lug project-ing from its outer face, a hook pivoted to the slide,-said cam portionsbeing arranged to move said hook into and out of engagement with said lug, said hook being provided with a lateral projection arranged to engage one of said cam portions, and, means for holding wire in the path of movement'of the cutting and forming means. 0

11; A stapling machine comprising a head, a plunger slidable therein, staple staple clenchers, a hammer for operating the clencher, a pivotally mounted arm carrying the hammer, a rod slidable at right angles to the plunger and having one end in the ath of movement of the plunger, said rod eing adapted to actuate the arm, and means for limiting the sliding movement of the rod.

12. A stapling machine comprising a head forming mechanism actuated bythe lunger,

stud projecting provided with a plunger opening and a parmounted in said head and connected with said slide, the lower end of said slide being reduced in'width and thickness to form a driver, a' former'block also slidably mounted in'said guide and extended across the reduced portion of said slide, means for couplifig and uncoupling said block and slide,

and means operated by the lower end of said plunger for clenching the staple.

15. A stapling machine comprising a head,-'a-;p1unger mounted in said head, a

shank secured to said plunger and provided with an arm, a slide guided by said head and havin one end connected to said arm, said slide eing reduced at its other end, a block also guided by said head and extending' acrossthe reduced portion of said slide, said block being rovided with formers, a rom said block, a hook pivoted to the slide and arranged toengage said stud, and oppositely disposed plates having cam portions constructed to move said hook into and out of engagement with said stud.

16. A stapling machine comprising a head, a plunger mounted therein, a shank secured to said plunger and provided with an arm, a slide gui ed by said head and having a reduced portion, means for connecting said slide to said arm, a block also mechanism, and a slidable rod having guided by said head and extending across the reduced portion of said slide, a stud projecting from said block, a hook pivoted to the slide and provided with a projection, a cam plate arranged to en age said projection to disengage said hoofi from said stud, and an oppositely disposed cam plate arranged to engage said hook to move the same into engagement with said stud.

17. In a staple driving machine, the combination with a body, a reciprocable plunger, and a slide rigidly connected to the plunger and carrying a driver, of formers one of which is provided with a cutter, 2% block by which the formers are carried and which is provided with a stud, a hook pivoted to the slide and having a socket to receive the stud, and plates having inclines which are engaged by the hook to disconnect said block from the slide afterthe forming operation,

Sand to connect said block with the slide when the latter commences to rise.

18. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a base, a slotted rest carried thereby, olencherspi'voted in the slot and a hammer for actuating the clenchers, of a swin g armpivoted to the base, a head carrie thereby, a plunger in the head, feeding and hammer operating mechanism actuated thereby, a slide rigidly secured tothe plunger and carrying a driver, a bldck carrying formers one of which is provided with a cutter, means for connecting and disconnecting said block and the slide anda forming block cooperating with the formers. p

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesscsuf-- LEWIS R. HEIM.

Witnesses:

Woos'rmz, St W. A'rHnRToN. 

